A Plunge Into Fiction
by breedy95
Summary: Jade Roberts was a normal 18-year-old girl from Manchester in England. "Was" is definitely the appropriate word, because from the start of this story she will become something quite different. She finds herself stranded in the Pokémon world with nobody but a black-haired young man and his yellow... rabbit thing... for company.
1. Chapter 1

Jade was floating in nothingness. She couldn't see anything and she wasn't one hundred percent sure that she was still attached to her body. The only sense that seemed to be working was her hearing, as she heard a faint echo that sounded like it was coming from miles away. The echo sounded just as confused as she felt.

"Heeello? Hell… Hello?! Wake up!"

Jade thought, _Wait a minute… That's not just an echo. That's an actual voice. Someone is speaking to me! _

And suddenly it wasn't dark anymore. It wasn't nothing, it was a kaleidoscope of swirling colours and blurry shapes that were trying to manifest themselves.Jade found herself blinking several times, after she'd re-remembered how to blink, and as the image she was seeing started to focus, Jade could see a round face with a mop of jet black hair. It was wearing a hat and on its shoulder was some kind of yellow creature.

_A rabbit? _Jade wondered._ I've never seen a rabbit like that before… And why is it sitting on his shoulder like a parrot?_

Rudely interrupting her thoughts, the boy started shaking her shoulders and said, "Hey! Don't faint on me again now, will ya?"

Jade suddenly regained her sense of alertness. She sat up and rubbed her head, which was throbbing painfully. It was spinning uncontrollably. _I'm sure I didn't drink a single thing last night_, Jade thought to herself.

"Are you gonna speak or somethin'?" said the boy. He was getting impatient now. Upon closer inspection, Jade noticed that he wasn't a boy; he was a young man with a z-shaped scar on each of his cheeks, huge brown eyes and, most noticeably, a determined look on his face.

"Y-yes. Sorry. I'm… I'm Jade. At least, I thought I was," replied Jade. Nothing seemed right to her. She was in a foreign face with a complete stranger who was half-boy, half-man, and his over-attached yellow rabbit.

"Wow. You really are confused, aren't ya? Well, you're in luck! The nearest Pokémon Center isn't too far from here. That's where my friends are, too." The boy gave her a beaming smile and gave her the thumbs-up.

_Wow, this guy's cheesy… _said Jade. _Wait… what did he say? _"Pokémon Center? What on earth is that?"

"But… but you've gotta know what a Pokémon Center is! Man, you need help. Come here." The boy lifted her up roughly by the arm and slung it over his left shoulder. Jade planted her feet on the ground and pushed herself up. She wanted to push the boy away for being so up close and personal, but she knew he just wanted to help her, and she was in a lot more pain than she realised.

"Jeez… What's happened to me?" said Jade. She was still bleary-eyed from fainting, but as she looked around, she saw a few… odd… things. There was a purple rat with oversized front teeth scuttling around the pair of them. Overhead, there was a blue-and-orange bird, tinier than any bird she'd ever seen in England, fluttering between their heads. She thought she could heard it say a single word over and over again, but she shook her head. _Birds do not talk, Jade Roberts. You are going crazy and you mustn't believe your psycho thoughts._

But this was just the beginning for Jade Roberts and her new friend. Unbeknownst to her, she's found herself in the mysterious and exciting Pokémon world. Whether she likes it or not, she's been thrown out of her mundane life in the suburbs of Manchester, England, and propelled into the vibrant, varied and colourful Pokémon universe.

Check back next week for another instalment of this new series! Please review and subscribe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Heeey, I'm back! Thanks for the follows and the review. While my first chapter was supposed to be a kind of prologue, I appreciate the fact that the rest of my chapters need to be quite a bit longer. Hopefully this one will be better in terms of length! Enjoy :3**

Also, just a side note: my fanfic is set in the Kalos region from the episode where Serena accompanies Ash on his journey. Basically, he only has one badge. I'm just going to see where the story takes me, but if you want anything in particular to happen, or you don't like something that I've done, feel free to let me know 'cause this plot can change anytime if anybody wants it to. I want to play around with the anime and do what I can with it to make my fic different, but I don't want to make it worse.  
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When they rounded the corner, the black-haired boy pointed with his free hand and said, "That's a Pokémon Center! Ever seen one of those before?"

"I… I still don't know what you're talking about," sighed Jade, exhaling in disappointment. Even though her head was starting to clear from the walk, she was still completely and utterly confused about her whereabouts.

"Hmm… Never mind." He seemed to be troubled, his brows knitting together as if he were in deep concentration. Jade couldn't help but notice how his eyes started to glimmer as he caught sight of something. She followed his gaze to find a strange group of people waving at him. The youngest among them was a little girl with an innocent smile and an energetic demeanour. A little rat-like animal was perched on her shoulder, squeaking something Jade couldn't quite make out. Next to the girl was an older boy with similar lemon-coloured hair. He had huge spectacles on and a huge backpack with gadgets sticking out of it in all directions. The sheer sight of him made Jade even more certain that she was going crazy.

And, quite different from the others, there was a beautiful young girl with a cascade of mousy brown hair flowing from underneath an oversized hat. She was holding an equally elegant fox and was regarding the duo with a little more suspicion than the others. Jade wondered what was bothering her.

"Hey, everyone!" said the boy who had helped her. Jade glanced to her side and could see how much happier he seemed now that he was in their company. Jade broke free of his support and stood upright, feeling like she should reclaim her sense of dignity if she was about to meet more new people.

"Ash!" said the little girl, skipping up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Who's your new friend?"

"This is…" began Ash, glancing at Jade.

"I'm Jade. Jade Roberts. I would tell you where I'm from, but I don't think you'd have ever heard of it," said Jade. She shook the little girl's hand and received a genuine smile in return. "And who are you?"

"Dedenne!" The little girl's mouse-like creature interrupted and twitched its whiskers curiously, looking up at Jade with a goofy smile and bright black eyes that revealed an intelligence Jade had never seen in an animal before.

"Well, that's Dedenne, and I'm Bonnie! This here's my brother, Clemont, and our new friend Serena is with us now, too," explained Bonnie so quickly that Jade could hardly keep track of the names. "And I'm sure you know who Ash and Pikachu are. They're the greatest battle team in the Kalos region!"

_Dedenne, Bonnie, Clemont, Serena, Ash, Pikachu… and Kalos. Those are some weird names. _Luckily, though, Jade's initial confusion had worn off and she was willing to learn everything she could about this place. Her thoughts brought her back to the present. _For now I have to be polite and get to know these people; everything else will follow after._

"Hi, everyone," said Jade, smiling for the first time since she'd arrived in this crazy place. "I'm Jade, and Ash found me on the ground somewhere out there. I don't know how I got there and I don't even know what a Pokémon Center is-"

"Whaaaat?" exclaimed the boy whose name must be Clemont. He approached her and she noticed his spectacles flash as if they were in as much shock as their wearer. "But… that means you've never heard of Pokémon before. Right?"

"…Right," Jade sighed. She glanced at Serena, the girl wearing the hat. She still hadn't spoken; she was simply gazing at Jade with a strange air of curiosity.

"Allow me to explain," said Clemont. He cleared his throat melodramatically and thumped his chest. "You have found yourself in the Kalos region, a wonderful and varied part of the Pokémon world. In this land live Pokémon, like Dedenne and Pikachu-" Clemont gestured to the orange mouse and Ash's yellow friend respectively, "-that serve as our friends and partners. Some people play with Pokémon as though they were pets, others participate in contests that show off their Pokémon's beauty and skill, and trainers like Ash and I battle with them. That's like getting Pokémon to express their strength and demonstrate the bonds that they have with their Trainers through attacks and strategies. See, it's hard for me to explain what a wonderful thing that Pokémon are, because they're whatever you want them to be. That's the best thing about them."

For the first time, Jade felt a sense of warmth and a confusing sense of belonging in this new place, just from hearing about the role that Pokémon have in people's lives. She smiled as she listened to Clemont's passionate and detailed explanation about creatures that seemed to be companions to humans. She looked at Dedenne and Pikachu with a new sense of admiration and affection. Her hand reached out to pet Dedenne, and it squeaked its name again and again.

"They seem amazing," Jade said, so quietly that she didn't know whether any of them could hear her. She looked up at Clemont and said, "You said that you and Ash are Trainers. And Trainers battle. But what's a battle actually like?"

"Well, Clemont? What do you say we show Jade what battling is all about?" said Ash next to her, pumping his fist into the air with a childlike vigour.

Clemont smiled and pushed his glasses up his nose. "I was hoping you might say that, Ash! Come this way, Jade!"

Jade followed her new group of friends outside, wondering what kind of things she would be seeing in only a few moments' time. The door leading out of the Pokémon Center took them to a dusty courtyard which had line markings on the ground. Jade thought it looked a little like a netball court from back home, and she decided this must be where Trainers could "battle" each other. She stood at the side of the courtyard with Bonnie, Serena and Dedenne, and Ash and Pikachu sprinted over to the left-hand side of the battlefield. Clemont seemed a bit calmer, but he was walking with a spring in his step to the opposite side, with a red-and-white ball in his hand.

Bonnie caught Jade looking at the object and said, as if reading her thoughts, "That's a PokéBall. Most Pokémon live inside of them. It's only special Pokémon like Dedenne and Pikachu that don't like to be kept in them. Anyway, you'll see for yourself when my big brother summons his Pokémon!"

Jade couldn't help but smile affectionately at her new tour guide. Even though Bonnie wasn't participating in the battle, she still spoke with a tremendous amount of energy and passion, as though she were really feeling the excitement of the two Trainers at the start of their match. Jade had to admit, she felt it too. It seemed that everyone had gained a feeling of boundless enthusiasm since Ash had called for the battle. Everyone apart from Serena.

Jade glanced at her curiously. She was stood about a metre away from her and Bonnie, and had her face turned away towards Ash. Jade felt like she should break the ice somehow, but maybe now wasn't the time.

Her thoughts were brought back to the present when she heard Ash cry, "You're up, Pikachu! I choose you!"

Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and landed on the sandy ground in front of him on all fours. Jade couldn't decide what was more impressive; its impeccable speed or the grace with which it moved.

"Let's go, Bunnelby! We've done this once before, and we can do it again!" shouted Clemont, tossing his PokéBall into the air. It opened and a rabbit-type Pokémon emerged from a cluster of red light. The PokéBall flew back into Clemont's hand as though it had a mind of its own and he issued his first order to his Bunnelby. "Let's show Serena what the almighty Dig move looks like!"

"Bunnelby!" Bunnelby jumped in the air and drilled into the ground with its fast-moving ears. Pikachu looked around, a little lost and confused.

"Pikachu, we have to dodge that attack! Agility!" Pikachu started running around the battlefield, leaving a trail of light in its path. It moved so quickly that it became a blur, but Bunnelby surfaced from the ground and collided with it. Pikachu flew through the air but landed on the ground nearby, panting heavily and looking worn out from the attack.

"Alright, Bunnelby! Good hit! Now use your Tackle attack!" ordered Clemont, pumping his fist into the air.

"Pikachu! Stop it right in its tracks with Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped into the air and closed its eyes before shouting, "Pikaaaachuuuuu!" An immense bolt of lightning was produced by Pikachu and hit Bunnelby, shocking its whole body from top to bottom. Bunnelby fell to the ground. This time it hadn't touched Pikachu.  
"Alright, Pikachu!" Ash grinned, clenching his fist triumphantly. "That's how we do it!"

"Not so fast, Ash! We've got more powerful attacks than that! Use Take Down, Bunnelby!" Bunnelby ran towards Pikachu with impressive agility, a determined look on its face.

_Oh no! How is Ash gonna avoid that attack? _thought Jade, convinced that they would be knocked out by this move. She looked at Ash and was surprised to see that he had a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"Pikachu. It's time for Double Team!" cried Ash, and almost instantly Pikachu started... developing copies of itself. Just like that. There weren't just a few, there were a couple of dozen by the time the attack had reached its limit. Jade was wide-eyed with shock at what was happening. She was expecting Pokémon to be able to evade attacks, but not in such an impassable way!

It was too late for Bunnelby to be able to adapt its attack. It ran straight for a false Pikachu copy and carried on running until it hit the metal fence. A cloud of dust rose up from the ground and enveloped Bunnelby, and when the smoke cleared everyone could see that it had fainted.

Before Jade could express her distress at this, Bonnie patted her on the arm and said, "Don't worry. That means that basically, Ash has won the battle! That's how a Pokémon admits defeat! Well done, Ash!"

Jade looked at Ash. He was cuddling his Pikachu with the kind of intensity and affection that you only hug your best friends with. Her heart melted. Win or lose, this was what Pokémon battles were really about.

After watching both Trainers excitedly recall the events of the battle, Jade heard Bonnie say, "Hey, Serena, are you okay? You've been quiet for hours now, even during the battle."

Even though it was Bonnie who had spoken, Serena turned around and looked Jade in the eyes with an unmistakeable and indescribable coldness. She didn't say anything; she simply walked back into the Pokémon Center without a word.

"But… Serena! Wait!" cried Bonnie, waving her arms frantically.

Jade touched her gently on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Bonnie. It's not you. She's… I don't know why, but it's me she's got a problem with."

**-END OF CHAPTER-**

**So, that wasn't especially long, but it was long**_**er **_**and that's definitely a start. I hope you enjoyed my description of the battle and it wasn't too long. Please give me your feedback, it'll really help improve my fic! Thanks a lot ^_^****HHHHee**


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